Who Wins in The Manny Trade?

Manny Ramirez got his wish and was traded from the Boston Red Sox today before the trading deadline. I was a bit surprised, because his antics in Boston are not that new, but this time he really got on the nerves of the front office and they made a big deal today. In the three team deal, Los Angeles, the Dodgers, received Manny. In return they sent two prospects to the Pittsburgh Pirates, who also received two prime prospects from the Red Sox. The Pirates sent their best player, Jason Bay, to the Red Sox.

The Dodgers will get a lot of offense from Manny and will probably be in the playoffs. The Pirates got four players for one, two of whom are very highly regarded! The Red Sox got rid of a problem child--who can really hit. But they may not reach the playoffs. The big winner in the deal seems to me to be the Tampa Bay Rays, who should pull away from Boston in the AL East race!

Wandy is Dunn In!

The Houston Astros most reliable pitcher of the years has, arguably, been left hander Wandy Rodriguez. But last night he gave up seven runs, including three homers to lefthanded hitters from the Reds, Adam Dunn hit two and Ken Griffey Jr. hit one that accounted for three of the runs for Cincinnati! The Astros made it a game late, but were too far behind and fell 9-5!

Moelher Pitches Well!

Brian Moehler pitched 8 and two thirds innings last night for the Houston Astros. I was really hoping he could finish it off, and in truth I think he could have. But in the ninth he gave up one run and had the tying run on deck so Cecil Cooper brought in young Wesley Wright to get the final out. It was a good win and a solid performance by Moehler. He is now 6-4 on the season.

Roy Is Back & So Am I!

My summer travels are over so I am back to pull for the Astros with my full attention. And that coincides with the return of Roy Oswalt from the disabled list. That should make my job much more palatable. Roy pitched five innings last night and was able to get the win over the Reds. That makes him 20 and 1 in his career against Cincinnati!

Wouldn't You Know It?

Just as the Astros begin to make a turn around from the dismal month long stretch by winning 3 in a row and seven of ten, Roy Oswalt goes down with a hip injury. They do not know yet how long the injury will affect him, so maybe this is just a blip, but the team can hardly swim without him healthy!